Blood and Lyrium
by Jocasta Silver
Summary: The side stories to the Templar and the Blood Mage universe
1. Unlikely Allies

Author's Note: So this 'verse has taken over my brain for now.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Dragon Age_ , this is owned by Bioware.

Unlikely Allies

After the Mage-Templar War broke out, Jowan decided it would probably be better for his health to flee to Tevinter. After all, it was the one country where mages could be free. He'd discovered that the so called "freedom" for mages was faulty advertising, unless you were an altus. Most of the laetan class were stuck in glorified secretarial jobs, and slaves who were mages had it even worse. Jowan managed to finagle a job at one of the libraries under the fake name of Leo. It was better stocked than Kinlock Hold, and he spent most of his off days here, browsing the many ancient tomes.

Today, there seemed to be very few people around, since currently the Magisterium was in session. He was currently re-stocking books, when he noted a curious situation.

"Hi," whispered a white-blond haired boy. "I was wondering if you had a copy of _Journey to the Fade_ by Marius Pavus?"

"Go away half-breed," hissed the nasty desk clerk. "We don't want your kind around here."

"Now that's not very nice at all, Salinator. We are supposed to serve everyone here, regardless of where they come from."

"Well you can help him yourself Leo. I didn't know you were an elf lover." The man's hooked nose bulged as he escaped as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry about that rudeness. I can help you find what you're looking for." He hoped that the boy, who on closer inspection was actually a young man in his twenties, wasn't turned by his colleague's racism. He was rather attractive with the hair and the full, pink lips.

"Thank you. You've made a terrible day a little brighter," the man replied.

Jowan froze. It couldn't be. "Wow, I wasn't expecting to meet you today."

"Neither was I, my name's Feynriel. My mother would take me to task for not telling you my name earlier." He held out his hand, and after a second's hesitation, Jowan shook it. It was warm, and sweaty.

"I go by the name of Leo around here." While he did not reveal the whole truth, he didn't outright lie either.

"This must be shocking for you; I guess you weren't expecting someone like me to be your soulmate."

Inwardly, Jowan felt anger at those who put down this handsome man, just because, he happened to be part elf. "Feynriel, you are a handsome and talented man, and I wouldn't change any part of you."

Feynriel blushed. "Thank you. So about that book?"

"I'll help you get the book, and then we could possibly meet somewhere for lunch when I go on my break."

"I think I'd like that," Feynriel replied.

As he helped fetch the book off the shelves, Jowan reflected that maybe his foolish idea to run Tevinter hadn't been so foolish after all.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this crack pairing, and please read and review.


	2. I Will Defend You

Author's Note: Here's the next story.

I Will Defend You

Skyhold wasn't bad for an ancient fortress, at least this place didn't have any scary demons lurking within. At least, none that Isabela knew about. She planned on taking advantage of her time off from babysitting duty (because those new recruits might as well be her kids), get something to drink, hang out with Varric, and maybe hook-up with some horny man or woman.

"So, I haven't heard him from Hawke in a while, how are he and Fenris?" she asked Varric once she located him.

Varric shrugged. "Last I heard Hawke's going to investigate to see what's up with the Wardens, and Broody tagged along."

"Not exactly a hot romantic date, but it'll do," Isabela replied, winking. "So Varric would it be all right if I reacquaint myself with Bianca."

"No!" Varric shouted. "I wouldn't want you lot to gang up on me. Especially since Daisy and Curly have been make gooey eyes at each other. Apparently, they're soulmates."

"Well, as long as he loves her," Isabela replied. Honestly, she's never understood all the fuss over soulmate marks. Hers which is positioned on the small of her back, says 'there's no need to be rude' in elegant handwriting. The kind of handwriting that nobles wrote in, that was both legible and showed off the person's talented writing. What would a noble want with someone like her?

"Um...Varric, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Trevelyan needs to speak with you," a lovely, woman with skin slightly darker than her own interrupted.

"That is terrible luck, considering I was hoping to hear more about you sweet thing." She even winked, because why not. It wasn't as if she was currently involved with anyone.

The woman blushed. "There's no need to be rude."

"Well damn," Isabela muttered.

"Do you…. what I meant was?"

"You're wondering how to tactfully ask if I have your soulmate words." Damn, she hadn't this much fun since that threesome with Tabris and Leliana. "And the answer's yes."

The woman blushed even redder. "Um…yeah, so I'll be back in the war council room if you want to talk."

"So, who was that gorgeous woman?" Isabela asked.

"That would be our esteemed ambassador Josephine," Varric replied. "You know you're probably the first person who's made her blush." And with that thought, he took off, leaving Isabela with her confused thoughts.

…

Josephine was confused, which was an unusual position for her to be in. She'd been trained in the proper protocol for any procedure, and her training as a bard meant that she could defend herself if she needed to. Potentially meeting her soulmate was not a scenario she'd been trained for. She'd watched as Leliana read letters from her lover Tabris, the Hero of Fereldon, and Cullen was involved with Merrill, one of Varric's friends. She'd never expected to run into her soulmate in the middle of upheavals such as this. She especially didn't expect to walk in on a conversation between her soulmate and Leliana. It was more awkward than the time she'd walked in on Dorian and the Inquisitor getting frisky on the War Table.

"Josephine is a dear friend of mine. I would hate for her to get hurt." Leliana turned and noticed she was there. She abruptly left to avoid Josephine's ire.

"Oh hi." Isabela smiled as if seeing Josephine was the highlight of her day.

"I'm sorry about Leliana," she replied. "She can be meddlesome at times."

"She's just trying to look out for you. Which reminds me, I should find Cullen and make sure he's treating Kitten all right."

"Wait," she said, both because she didn't want to have her soulmate run out on her again and she wanted to spare Cullen. "I'd like to talk, learn more about you."

"What would you like to know?"

And so they spent the whole afternoon chatting about Isabela's adventures, both with Hawke and as a pirate captain.

…

It wasn't every day that Isabela surprised Josie, in her office. Her soulmate was staring off into the distance. "Good morning, Isabela."

"Yeah, I managed to sneak a slice of bread for you, since Leliana said you didn't eat much for breakfast." She and Leliana had come to a truce, especially since the spymaster noted that Isabela was devoted to Josie and made sure to bring her snacks on occasions when the ambassador got so bogged down in paperwork that she forgot to eat.

"I received a letter from my parents informing me of a marriage arrangement between myself and another noble."

"Oh." Of course, after all, nobles don't marry common riff-raff like her (except for Hawke and technically he's not much of a noble).

"Isabela, I'm going to find a diplomatic way to get out of this. I swear that I did not find my soulmate just to lose them to a stupid piece of paper."

That meant a lot to her, that Josie was willing to fight for their relationship. Isabela smiled, but she still quietly thought that maybe there was something she could do to fix this.

…

Clang! Isabela was starting to regret agreeing to this duel, especially since her soulmate's fiancé, Lord Otranto insisted on fighting with swords. She held her own, but it had been one hell of a learning curve. She was starting to have a new respect for Aveline and Carver.

"Stop!" Josephine looked upset. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Because you're my soulmate and you needed defending. I will always defend you."

Otranto looked a little surprised. "If that is the case, then I humbly bow out of this competition." He walked across the square and vanished into the crowd.

"Josie, I…" Isabela wasn't able to finish, because her soulmate had crossed the distance between and them kissed her firmly. After they broke apart she added, "maybe I should annoy you more often."

…

"Josephine and Isabela," Cullen mused as he and Merrill sat on his bed. "And here I thought we were an odd pair."

"You know, there was a time I would have been unspeakably jealous of Josephine. Now I just feel happy for them."

"And why is that?" Cullen asked.

"When I first arrived in Kirkwall, I had this huge crush on Isabela. She only ever saw as me as a younger sister. It's only after I met you, that the crush started to fade away. Does it bother you, that I've been attracted to women, I mean?"

Cullen shrugged. "Not at all."

"Then I'm glad I told you," she replied. "It does give me an incentive to be honest."

"I can give you another." And then they were kissing, and everything was right in their world.


	3. Safe Harbour

Author's Note: Yes, I'm back and I wrote a short piece on Dorian and the Inquisitor.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Dragon Age_ , this is owned by Bioware.

Safe Harbor

Maxwell Trevelyan spent most of his childhood and adolescence believing that as a mage, he did not deserve to have a soul mark. It wasn't until he became the Herald of Andraste, a deity he wasn't entirely sure he believed in that his opinion on the matter changed. Fortunately, his apathy towards the Maker only seemed to bother Cassandra. Everyone else took it in stride.

"And it's not like I'm saying that the Maker doesn't exist, I just don't take everything at face value."

"You'll have to excuse the Seeker," Varric said. "She's always been grumpy. It's in her nature."

"I heard that!" Cassandra tartly replied.

They walked to their destination in silence. It wasn't until after he finished speaking to Alexius that Cassandra voiced her opinion.

"We cannot let this stand!"

"I know," he replied. "However, we need to find a way to help the other mages. Hopefully Felix will have some ideas when we meet him."

Then walked they in on a rather attractive man, taking down sloth demons. "Oh, there you are. Now help me close this."

Max stopped. Was this man really…? "Are you here to help us."

"In a manner of speaking," he said.

After they closed the crack, he hoped Dorian would say something that might hint that his suspicions were true. Unfortunately, the object of his desire did not talk about anything besides Alexius and Felix. And then they got thrown into the future, and he focused simply on staying alive. It wasn't until after they brought the mages back to Haven that they finally found time to chat.

…

"Are you enjoying the party?" he inquired.

"It is rather interesting to see how you Southerners party, although there isn't any decent wine around here."

"You could always dance with me?" Max offered.

Dorian shook his head. "I'll pass. Besides what would your advisors think of the Tevinter mage corrupting their precious Herald."

"They'll survive." He was about to ask Dorian about his words, when the Red Templars attacked.

…

When he finally staggered into the camp, it was Dorian who threw his arms around him and yelled. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

"Um… Dorian you're squeezing my rib cage."

"Oh, sorry." He let go of his grip and offered an arm, which Max gratefully clasped. He sat and fell asleep by the campfire.

…

It wasn't until they arrived in Skyhold and he settled in that he asked Dorian. "Do you have my words?"

"I was starting to think you would never ask. I even wondered if I read the situation wrong." Dorian rolled up the left sleeve of his shirt, revealing Max's writing. "So where are my words on you?"

Max blushed, and unbuttoned the ridiculous shirt that his advisors insisted he wear. "Right here." He pointed to the left side of torso.

Dorian gently traced the words. He reached forward and pressed his lips to Max. Just as Max was starting to relax and enjoy the kiss, he broke it off.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to be presumptuous."

"Dorian, you are hot, funny, and one of the bravest mages I know. Any man would be lucky to have you."

Dorian blushed.

"Speechless, I see."

"I never thought I'd be able to have an actual relationship."

"Neither did I," Max replied. "And yet here we are." He'd finally found his safe harbor, his handsome and talented soulmate.


	4. Something to Hope For

Author's Note: So I finally wrote a short that features Cullen and Merrill as the main couple.

Disclaimer: I don't own _D_ _ragon Age_ , this is owned by Bioware.

Something to Hope For

After Samson's sentencing, it was several days before she was able to speak to Cullen privately. H was busy making the arrangements for Samson to begin working for the Inquisition as his handler. While, Cullen had started to make an effort to balance his duties and delegate to his second Rylen, he was still very busy.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long," he apologized.

"No it's ok," she replied. "Just as long as you don't push yourself too hard."

"Back then I thought I had to work extra hard to make up for my complicity to Meredith. You've shown me otherwise."

"Yeah, I'm glad to see that I'm an excellent influence on you." Being with her soulmate was a dream she hadn't allowed herself. Back in the clan, because she was betrothed to Mahariel whom she did feel some attraction towards and her clan needed more elvish children. And when she was in Kirkwall, she'd felt that she could only bring her soulmate misery and death. And yet, here she and Cullen were, happy.

"Actually I have some important business in Fereldon, I was hoping you might accompany me." He sounded hopeful.

"Yeah, it would be nice to stretch our legs and leave Skyhold."

"Then I will make the necessary arrangements," he replied.

…

The lake was just as Cullen remembered it. Quiet and peaceful, the perfect spot for a date with his soulmate.

"So where are we?" Merrill inquired. She sounded a little nervous, but clearly trusted him.

"You walk into danger as part of the Inquisition every day. I wanted to take you away from that. If only for a moment. I grew up not far from here. This place was always quiet."

"Did you come here often?" she asked, smiling.

"I love my siblings but they were very loud," he explained. "I came here to clear my head. Of course they always found me eventually. Do you have any siblings?"

"A brother actually, he's currently the Second for the clan I was born into in Nevarra, the last time I checked." She sounded almost wistful. "Tamlen was like a brother of sorts when I came to the Sabrae clan. You were happy here?"

"I was, I still am." It may have taken a long time for him to get here, but he had found happiness with his soulmate.

"So alone with a former blood mage? That doesn't concern you."

"The templars had rules on fraternization, rules I broke the day I met you. But I'm no longer bound by them. And I know that you don't practice anymore. Whatever I fear of magic, I see none of that in you." He pulled out a stone. "The last time I was here was the day I left for Templar training. My brother gave this. It just happened to be in his pocket, but he said it was for luck. Templars are not supposed to carry such things. Our faith should see us through."

"It is good to have something to hold onto, that reminds of our pasts," Merrill observed.

"It was the one thing I had that the Templars didn't give me. I would like you to have it. If that's ok."

Merrill reached out, and took it, placing it into her canvas bag. "It would be nice to have a little luck." Then she reached out and kissed him. "I'm glad you brought me out here," she uttered, when they broke apart.

"I'm glad I did too."

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this piece and please read and review.


	5. Meet the Family

Author's Note: So here's another Cullen and Merrill short that involves them having a family reunion.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Dragon Age_ , this is owned by Bioware.

Meet the Family

Merrill faced templars, blood mages, and demons on a daily basis and they no longer terrified her. What she and Cullen walked towards now, scared the crap out of her. It took several weeks after vanquishing Corypheus before Cullen was able to secure leave to visit his family in the South Reach. Merrill hadn't been part of a family in a long time. She'd been taken from Nevarra when she was eight at the time her magic manifested, and she doubted that her parents and brother wanted anything to do with her given her exile from the clans.

"Don't worry," Cullen reassured her when he noticed her expression. "I'm sure you'll get along fine. Although that won't stop all three of them from teasing me."

"And why is that?" she inquired.

"You're the first girlfriend I've ever brought home." It is an admission that has him blushing.

"So are your parents still around?"

"My mother is, she lives with Mia and her family. My father passed away a few years ago, while I was in Kirkwall." There was a note of regret in his voice.

"Any nephews and nieces?"

Cullen smiled. "Just one nephew, Mia, my older sister, has a son."

Now, they stood in front of a small house surrounded by woods. Cullen walked up to the door and knocked. A woman who shared the same blond hair as Cullen answered. "Cullen, it's about time you showed up we were about to have lunch without you." She turned to Merrill. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Mia."

After shaking hands, they headed into the kitchen/dining room, where Merrill was introduced to his other sister Rosalie, his brother Branson, his elderly mother who sat in a chair knitting, Mia's husband, and her son who was excited to meet someone new.

"So did you really fight a Tevinter magister?" he asked eagerly.

"Alec!" Mia scolded.

"No it's ok. I did face a Tevinter magister. It was scary, but I had my friends to help me fight him."

"Cool!" Alec grinned.

"Sorry about Alec, we're still trying to teach him manners," Mia apologized. They had the lovely lunch of sandwiches Mia made, and the family chatted, bringing everyone up to speed on what happened when they last saw each other. Rosalie apparently had a girlfriend, and Branson was starting a business venture with an acquaintance. Merrill felt happy and welcome in this strange, but loyal family. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to visit Cullen's family after all.

…

"So when are you going to get married?" Mia quizzed him the next morning while everyone else was asleep.

"We've only been together a few months," Cullen explained. Mia still was able to ferret secrets out of him.

"She's your soulmate, what's there to figure out?"

"It just might take some time, and Merrill doesn't believe in the Maker." It didn't bother him as much as it might have when he was younger, that Merrill worshipped the Creators.

"So have a combined ceremony that mixes both your traditions," Mia replied. "Don't make excuses."

"I don't make excuses; I just want to take things slowly." Maybe, someday, he and Merrill would marry. For now, he was content with what he had.

"Just don't try to cheat yourself of the happiness you deserve. And maybe make some cute nieces and nephews."

Cullen rolled his eyes. However, he was happy to be back with his family, as exasperating as they could be at times.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this piece, and please read and review.


	6. The Lucky Ones

Author's Note: Yes, I have another short.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Dragon Age_ , this is owned by Bioware.

The Lucky Ones

It's only after hours of pushing that Evelyn Trevelyan finally gets to meet her daughter. The baby has brown hair like Carver's, but inherited her pert mouth and green eyes.

"We finally did it," Carver declared.

"We? I'm the one who did all the work." But it's said without malice. It seemed impossible that the two templar soulmates could marry and have children, given the Chantry's public opposition to such marriages. However, with no templar order left, there was nothing stopping their union. It still felt like yesterday, that they met as trainees, and bonded over the fact that they both had twins who were mages. Plus, they both have famous siblings.

"So what are we going to name her?"

"How about Bethany, after your sister," she suggested, and there's a sad look on Carver's face as he remembered his gentle, sweet twin sister, but he nodded.

"Bethany Hawke II you have a big family name to live up to," she whispered. "But Mother and Father will be with you every step of the way."

"You know it feels weird to be a father," he said. "I feel like only yesterday that I was a child."

There won't be any grandparents, because Carver's parents are dead, and Evelyn has never forgiven hers for giving Max to the Circle, and forcing her to join the templars. However, there will be Aveline and Donnic, who have two rambunctious boys of their own, and Varric who'd been recently elected Viscount against his will. There's Max, who hopefully will visit when he's not busy running the Inquisition, and Carver's brother Garrett, the legendary Champion of Kirkwall. It isn't a fairy tale, but it's a good life.

…

"So, you're apparently an uncle and related to the Inquisitor now," Fenris observed. It had taken years, but he finally could read and write proficiently.

"It's just weird to think of Carver as a father, especially since he'd younger than me."

"No less strange than having an elf boyfriend who can crush people's hearts with his fist."

"All right, you've made your point," Hawke admitted. "And as long as Carver's happy with her that's all that matters." First, he needed to figure out the warden situation to make up for Stroud's sacrifice, and then he'd head back to Kirkwall and get to know his niece and sister-in-law. At least, he didn't have to face this situation on his own.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this piece and as always, please read and review.


	7. Say You Will

Author's Note: This is the final short which features Varric Tethras, and Herah Adaar.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Dragon Age_ , this is owned by Bioware.

Say You Will

Varric really hated that Bianca had lied to him about being the leak for the red lyrium. He hated her even more when she finally confessed that she wasn't his soulmate, she didn't even have a soulmate. So he'd spent all this time, hating his friends for having soulmates who loved them for no damned reason. And then, the nobles of Kirkwall had to go and elect him Viscount when he complained about the lack of funds for his new building project. Sure, it was a blast to drive Seneschal Bran up a wall for all the times he'd been a jerk to him and Hawke back in the day, but this Viscount thing was seriously a pain in the ass. Moreover, there seemed to be never ending reams of paperwork for him to read and sign.

And today for whatever reason a mercenary band called the Valo-Kas wanted to speak to him.

"I could always tell them that you are busy sir," Bran suggested helpfully.

"No send them in," he said. Besides Aveline and Hawke would never let him hear the end of it if he sent them away. Now he had some time to ponder if these mercenaries would be as colorful and interesting as the Chargers.

There were only two people, an attractive female Qunari with green eyes and impressive horns, and a red haired female elf.

"So is this all of you?"

"No sir," the Qunari replied. "There are three more of us. Kaaras is currently on baby-sitting duty." When he continued to look puzzled, she added, "He's keeping Marcus and Twitch out of trouble."

If he didn't know better, he would have said that she'd just uttered his soulmark words. Instead he asked, "and what might your names be?"

"I'm Herah Adaar and this is Maia Lavellan, my second in command. We, the Valo-Kas mercenaries are interested in offering our services to you."

"And why would I be interested in hiring you?"

"If you will forgive me for saying so, Kirkwall is a mess, if you want to make it a prime port city, then you need to clean up the filth. We can help you in that endeavor." She said all this confidently as a statement of fact.

As loath as he was to admit it, Herah did have a point. "Fine then, I accept your offer."

As they began to negotiate on price, he heard a loud crash and a blond haired human male and a brunet haired dwarf female burst into the room. "So did you get us the deal Herah?!" the dwarf yelled.

"Sorry about that," Herah apologized. "That loud person is Ria Cadash, aka. Twitch. And that human over there is Marcus Renwick. Don't let his silence fool you; he can be quite rambunctious when he wants to be."

Suddenly, Bran came in, trailed by another Qunari, a male. "I'm so sorry sir," Bran said. "These ruffians interrupted your meeting."

"And apologize for the disturbance my friends caused." Suddenly the Qunari did a double take. "Wait are you Varric Tethras?"

"Yes, I am." It was annoying to constantly have to answer that question.

"Wow! I'm like a huge fan of your works!" he yelled. "You're the reason I left the Qun, back when the Arishok was here in Kirkwall."

Varric wasn't sure if he could wrap his mind around this, so he just glanced at the rather interesting tableau of figures that he might just incorporate into another book once he finished his story about the Inquisition. "Well that is good to know," he said.

…

Herah Adaar was no stranger to fear and danger. A constant fear was that she'd be captured by the Qun and be made into a saarebas, or the Chantry would try to put her in a Circle. Fortunately, with the new Divine, one of those fears had fallen to the wayside. However, now she was faced with a new conundrum, a potential soulmate. She knew that being soulmates was why her parents fled the Qun to start a new life just outside the Free Marcher city of Cumberland. She'd always dreamed of meeting her soulmate and now she wasn't sure what to make of him. Varric Tethras was a famous writer and the new Viscount of Kirkwall.

"Are you all right, Herah?" Kaaras inquired. She'd met him a few years back when she was part of another mercenary group, when he'd just freed himself of the Qun. They'd ended up leaving the other group in disgust of their leader's racism against all Qunari.

"I just think I may have met my soulmate." It was hard to watch Marcus and Maia flirt and to observe as Twitch wrote letters to her soulmate, who was a baker in Ostwick. Kaaras, who hadn't met his soulmate either would understand.

"Well after this job is done, talk to him." Kaaras was never wishy-washy, he favored decisive actions, which was why he was reliable back up.

"I'll think about it," she said.

…

"So wait you're telling me that you might have met your soulmate, and you haven't told her." Even with a swollen belly, Aveline was a force to be reckoned with. She already had two noisy boys whom she and Donnic adored.

"Well, yes that would be it, but part of it is that someone once lied to me about being my soulmate."

"I honestly don't care! Tell her that you suspect that she's your soulmate and let the chips fall where they may."

"Fine, I'll talk to her." So after the Valo-Kas finished cleaning up the streets of Kirkwall, Varric requested to speak with Herah.

"So I have something important to tell you," he admitted. "I think you might be my soulmate."

Herah smiled. "I actually was about to say the same thing. Can I see your words?"

"Only if I get to see yours," Varric replied.

"It's a deal." She unbuttoned the armored vest she normally wore and revealed his handwriting on her collarbone.

Varric pulled his glove off, and rolled up the sleeve of his left arm, showing her words on him.

"So what happens now?" she asked.

For someone who claimed to be an expert on this romance stuff, Varric was stumped. "I don't know," he admitted. "But we can find out together."

"I like the sound of that."

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed these shorts and please read and review.


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